The RPwD Act, 2016
Statutory Framework
Statutory Framework
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 replaced the earlier 1995 Act to align Indian legislation with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). It established a rights-based model protecting 21 specified disability categories.
21 Specified Disabilities Under the Act
Showing 21 of 21 specified categories
1. Blindness
A visual impairment involving total absence of sight, extremely limited acuity after best correction, or a severely restricted field of vision under statutory criteria.
2. Low-vision
Reduced vision that remains after treatment or standard correction but can still be used, including with assistive devices, for planning or carrying out tasks.
3. Leprosy Cured persons
A person cured of leprosy who continues to experience loss of sensation, paresis, deformity, or other physical limitations recognised by the Act.
4. Hearing Impairment
Covers deaf and hard-of-hearing persons whose hearing loss in both ears meets the prescribed decibel ranges at speech frequencies.
5. Locomotor Disability
A limitation in movement of self or objects caused by an affliction of the musculoskeletal or nervous system, including conditions named in the Act.
6. Dwarfism
A medical or genetic condition resulting in an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimetres) or less.
7. Intellectual Disability
Significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour that affect everyday conceptual, social, and practical skills.
8. Mental Illness
A substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that seriously affects judgment, behaviour, recognition of reality, or daily functioning.
9. Autism Spectrum Disorder
A neurodevelopmental condition, usually appearing in early childhood, that affects communication and social interaction and may involve restricted or repetitive behaviours.
10. Cerebral Palsy
A group of non-progressive neurological conditions affecting movement and posture due to injury in one or more areas of the brain, usually around birth.
11. Muscular Dystrophy
A group of hereditary genetic muscle diseases that progressively weaken muscles and can reduce mobility and performance of daily activities.
12. Chronic Neurological Conditions
Long-term conditions affecting the nervous system that can produce persistent or episodic neurological impairment and functional limitations.
13. Specific Learning Disabilities
Neurodevelopmental conditions affecting the processing of spoken or written language and skills such as reading, writing, spelling, or mathematics.
14. Multiple Sclerosis
An inflammatory nervous-system disease in which damage to myelin around brain and spinal-cord nerve cells disrupts communication and function.
15. Speech and Language Disability
A permanent disability arising from conditions such as laryngectomy or aphasia that affects one or more components of speech or language.
16. Thalassemia
An inherited blood disorder involving reduced or absent production of haemoglobin, often causing chronic anaemia and a need for continuing care.
17. Hemophilia
A usually inherited bleeding disorder caused by deficient clotting factors, leading to prolonged bleeding and possible internal bleeding.
18. Sickle Cell Disease
A hereditary haemolytic disorder in which red blood cells can become sickle-shaped, causing anaemia and painful blockage of blood flow.
19. Multiple Disabilities
The presence of two or more specified disabilities together, including deafblindness, which creates distinct communication, developmental, and educational needs.
20. Acid Attack Victim
A person disfigured due to a violent assault involving acid or another similarly corrosive substance.
21. Parkinson's Disease
A progressive neurological disorder primarily affecting movement, often causing tremor, rigidity, slowness, and difficulty with posture or balance.
Descriptions are concise summaries based on the official RPwD Act, 2016 and DEPwD assessment guidance. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD)